© 2012 Daily Tennis News Wire -
Nice Men's Saturday Tennis Summary

Nice
Singles - Final: (3) N Almagro def. (Q) B Baker 6-3 6-2
In a strange way, this may be a good result. We don't want too many people reaching for the stars and falling down a pit. Brian Baker, despite promising results when young, had been away from the game for half a dozen years, and had had almost as many surgeries, and was one of those people who, by all odds, should have been retired. Instead, he came here and made the final. Increasing his points by two-thirds in the process. From #216, he rises to around #145. It may not be the storybook ending people dreamed of -- but it was surely far more than he dared hope for when the tournament started.
For Nicolas Almagro, it's another in his endless string of bottom-of-the-barrel clay titles. Since 2008, he has won at least two titles every year except in 2009, and at least one in every year since 2006. This is, obviously, his second of 2012; he also won Sao Paolo. Formally, it is a title defense -- but Nice 2011 is already off, so he manages to gain some points. A few. Enough to take him to #13.
But every one of his dozen titles is on clay, and every one of them is bottom-tier. Guess we know what he needs to work on.... He did say that it was the best he had played in two years. Can he keep it up?

Doubles - Final: (1) Bryan/Bryan def. Marach/Polasek 7-6(7-5) 6-3
Dare we say, "About time?"
This is only the third title for the Bryans this year, following Sydney and Monte Carlo. Almost anyone else would be satisfied with that, to be sure, but this is the Bryans....
It won't get them back to #1. In fact, it hardly matters, rankings-wise. But it's a nice way to head into Roland Garros, where they will have a shot at #1.